U.S.-India Solar Trade Dispute at the WTO Could Spur Collaboration

Today’s decision by the U.S. government to challenge India’s Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (National Solar Mission) local content requirement at the World Trade Organization (WTO) highlights a growing problem in the solar industry — the growth of localization barriers to trade. In particular, local content provisions provide preferential treatment to renewable energy suppliers who source materials and services from their local area. While the U.S. was right to challenge India’s local content requirement after a three-year effort to persuade India to drop the rule, what’s also needed is a list of best practices to guide policy makers when they are developing solar support programs. The U.S. solar industry has consistently maintained that while litigation is an important part of the global trading system, so too is collaboration. The U.S.-India dispute follows on t...